INFANTILE PARALYSIS

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 41, 17 August 1916, Page 8

INFANTILE PARALYSIS

THE EPIDEMIC IN NEW YORK

AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO NEW ZEALAND.

NO CASES HERE SINCE JULY.

. "The fact that England is considering measures to prevent the introduction of the disease (infantile paralysis) suggests that Australia will likewise iustitute a rigid inspection of ships from America." This statement, cabled in connection with the alarming epidemic at present raging in New York and causing terrible mortality, has much ' significance as far as New Zealand is concerned, because of the proximity of this Dominion to the Commonwealth. The point arises that it it is necessary for Australia to take precautionary measures in the way of inspection of ships, does the same necessity apply to this country? The question was put to Dr. Sydney Smith, District Health Officer, by a Post reporter to-day, and he replied that there was no probability whatever oi. the disease being imported here from America. He said that there had been approximately 370 cases in the Wellington district altogether, but none had been reported since the beginning of July It was not expected that there would be more than one or two isolated cases. The disease appeared to be closely associated with the hot weather, and m New . Zealand the number of cases increased with the temperature and fell with the fall of the thermometer. This applied to the whole of the district, and to each individual part of it. The greatest number of cases occurred in the period between the middle of February and the middle of March, when the temperature was highest throughout the district. . "The correlation between the temperature and the epidemic has been very dose indeed." said Dr. Sydney Smith. "The highest temperatures stretched from the third week in January to the third week in March, after which a consistent faff m the epidemic took place. The disease was very severe in February, March, and April, and at its highest in March. The- fall in the severity of the epidemic in .April synchronises with the decline in temperature to a remarkable degree. The average monthly temperatures for February, March, and April of 1916 were in every case higher,-.-and in some instances very considerably higher, than, the averages for the closing months of the preceding four years." Referring to the high rate of mortality in New York, Dr. Smith said that the incidence in the Wellington district on the population, basis was approximatelyone in 1000. Nearly 50 per cent, occurred among children under five years of age, 80 per cent, among children under 10 years of age, 92 per cent among people under 21 years of age, ond only 7 "per cent among people over 20 years. Children under twelve months of age were not often subject to the disease. Children between one and two years accounted for by far the greatest number of cases, after which the incidence greatly diminished, untiL after .ten years it was very , low indeed, and practically did not occur after 30 years of age. As to the death rate, in New Zealand it was 13.5 per 100 cases. Out of this number children under one year and people over ten years.. showed the highest mortality, the death rate between one and ten years being small. Thirty-five per cent, of the children under one year of age died and practically 50 per cent, of -those between. fifteen and thirty died. There were no deaths of people over forty years of agd.